Risk Attitude Scales: Concepts, Questionnaires, Utilizations

ROHRMANN - Risk Attitude Scales 7
Accidents represent the risk of acute/immediate physical harm while illness refers to hazards
with the risk of chronic physical harm.
This classification - which is partly similar to but also deviating from proposals by, e.g.,
Jackson et al. 1972 or Weber et al in press - was chosen because of insights from risk
perception research (Rohrmann 1994, 1999) which indicated that the motivation structure for
deciding about such hazards is different.
2.3 Main project agenda
The project comprised four phases: Theoretical work; development of new instruments,
general and domain-specific ones; empirical studies to check the validity of conceptua-
lizations; and a cross-cultural extension (which is still underway).
As a principal conceptual decision, only measures based on statements about risk-taking
mind-sets - reflecting thoughts and feelings about how to act in a risk situation - were
investigated. Risk behavior is not studied in this project.
3 Development of four types of instruments
Altogether four instruments were developed and tested, each based on a different
rationale. Three of them are specified for hazard domains, using the typology outlined above
(cf. 2.2). The underlying considerations were as follows:
3.1 Risk Orientation Questionnaire
Rationale:
o Aiming at general orientations towards risk-taking.
o Using a standard format of attitude scaling, i.e., presenting statements and asking for
level of agreement on a 5-point scale.
o Providing statements for expressing risk propensity and for risk avoidance.
o Restricting the length (one page with about a dozen items).
Sample items:
"I follow the motto, 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'", "I don't like to put something at stake,
I would rather be on the safe side" {response format: 1-to-5 scale}.
3.2 Risk Propensity - Holistic Questions
Rationale:
o Direct and holistic self-assessment of risk propensity.
o Rating of general risk attitude and of domain-specific risk propensity for relevant domains.
o Additional self-rating of own risk propensity in comparison to others.
Sample item: